T57 – summary – Ramsbottom Heritage Society

The transcript is an interview with Geraldine Mercer as transcribed by Microsoft Word and summarised by ChatGPT and subject to errors.

Topic: Memories of 33 Crow Lane, where Mrs. Mercer’s grandmother lived, and recollections of the house, family life, and surroundings.

Geraldine was born in 1947, one of twins (her twin sister was Margaret).
They also had an elder sister Mary (born 1939 during WWII).
Their grandmother (Mrs. Hagan) lived at 33 Crow Lane until her death on 17 April 1965 (the day before Geraldine’s 18th birthday).
The house never had electricity—only gas lighting.

Structure: A typical two-up, two-down stone house (built c.1861).
- Ground floor:
  - Front room (stone floor, fireplace, cupboards, sideboard, rocking chair, chaise longue, square table with drawers, peg rugs).
  - Back room (kitchen) with slop stone sink, freestanding gas cooker, and a walk-in larder with hooks and shelves.
  - No bathroom indoors; tin bath kept in the larder.
- Upstairs:
  - Two bedrooms with fireplaces.
  - Brass bed, dark wood wardrobe with outside mirror, jug & washbowl, and chamber pots (“jerries”).
Yard:
- Separate outside toilet (“tippler”) and midden (dustbin area).
- No back gate; yards were unfenced, with communal feel.
- Children walked up to the main road near the chapel and bus stop.
Lighting:
- Gas mantles with chains (no electric lights).
- Possible portable lamps in some rooms.
Décor and Furnishings:
- Crochet curtains made by grandmother.
- Built-in cupboards flanking the fireplace, used to store “best china.”
- Peg rugs made by grandmother from scraps, later wool rugs.
- Pop bottles (Sarsaparilla) sometimes used as hot water bottles.

Geraldine distinctly remembers her aunt Kitty (a spinster who lived with them, died in 1951).
Neighbour Mrs. Jessie Dutton later bought the house after the grandmother’s death.
Geraldine once revisited the house about 12–15 years before the interview and spoke with Jessie.
She recalls strong community ties—neighbours remembered her and her twin as “the Hagan twins.”
Photographs: She mentions old family wedding pictures and portraits, though many were male-dominated and Victorian in style.

Houses on Crow Lane were built around 1861.
Geraldine’s grandmother was born in 1877, married in 1908, and moved into Crow Lane sometime after that.
The family’s roots were in Bury, Lancashire, with references to local streets (e.g., Carr Street, Back Ramsbottom Lane).

T57 – summary